Spirit Led Life

(Message: Pastor Dr. S. Joseph, Founder, NLMI. Hoping I haven’t missed much; Happy reading!)

Hallelujah! The Lord is in this place. It’s my prayer today that we have a revelation today and also see Jesus revealed through His word, according to what we read in Ephesians 1. You see, when we came to Him, Jesus not only saved us from our sins, but also delivered us out of religion; that is to say, in Him, not only do we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (v7) and eternal life, but He also made known to us the mystery of His will and that is revelation. Therefore now, no more sins and no more religion-but newness of life and revelation as He leads us from faith to faith, from strength to strength, from victory to victory and from glory to glory.

All religions (including Christian ‘religion’) only talk about how we can get to heaven; but by revelation we know that it is not about how to get to heaven, but rather revelation is to know how heaven came down. Yes, in Jesus Christ, heaven on earth is a reality. God, in the Old Testament-from Genesis to Malachi, revealed Himself as God the Father; but in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He gathers together all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth-in Him (Eph. 1:10).

As you read further in Ephesians 1, we see how we came to Christ; we believed the word of truth, the gospel of salvation and were sealed with the Holy Spirit. One thing interesting about Holy Spirit is that He is very gentle; although He abides in us, He is not going to influence and impose His will unless you co-operate, agree and yield to Him. The Holy Spirit's work in us is based on our everyday choices-for us to choose faith and obedience.

You see, when we come into the kingdom of God, spiritually speaking, we arrive as small babies-born-again! And if you are not willing to grow up, you will remain as a retarded child spiritually! And if a child, he is no better than a slave. All riches are at his disposal, but he is incapable of handling it all! This is what we read in Gal. 4:1. Apostle Peter also talks about Christian maturity of growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).

If you do not mature spiritually, you will be a retarded child and on one hand become useless yourself, and on the other hand you will quench the Spirit, grieve the Spirit, resist the Spirit and tempt the Spirit. And the anointing that you received when you believed, and through effervescent prayer in a seminar or a special meeting, will dry out or leak out. You see, many experience a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit when He descends upon them, but do not realize that He leaves gently, if quenched!

In the Spirit Led Life that I want to talk about today, we are led by God Himself. Romans 8:14 says: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Today, as I was meditating on Psalm 8, I was fully aware as a preacher that I am receiving not just a revelation but also the seed of His word that I needed to sow in people’s lives. In Psalm 8, we find 4 things of God: (i) Creativity – When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars… (ii) Humility – What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him? (iii) Magnanimity – For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. (iv) Generosity – You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet. This Psalm 8 talks about the authority that Adam and Eve had, but that that was lost after the fall of man. A Paradise Lost as John Milton would say. But the Paradise regained is true as well since the time Jesus came; whatever was lost in Adam, and much more, is regained in Christ!

Hebrews 2: 6-10 goes like this: “But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under the feet.”

For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

Perfected through sufferings? Any precious stone has been through suffering; without cross, there is no crown; without death, no life! The thing is none of us wants to go through suffering willingly. We were in fact taught to be overcomers-overcoming anything and everything, always victorious and prosperous. But the truth is, christian maturity will not come if it is not without suffering. I used to ask, “Why Lord the suffering and persecution?” The answer is found in Phillipians 3:10 that we might know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering... Are you worried about sufferings in this world? You may have 101 problems in your life; but if you suffer for Jesus, the Spirit of Christ will be a crown of glory over you!

There was a preacher in Toronto from the Airport Fellowship-John and his wife Carol, laboring hard in His ministry, yet finding meager fruit for their labor. Then they heard that revival has started in one of the states in the U.S-Pensacola. They traveled to U.S and were filled with the desire for God’s anointing in their own ministry. They invited a preacher from Pensacola to come to Toronto. That was the start of revival in Toronto as well, then popularly called as “The Toronto Blessing”! We-my wife and I, went to Toronto to attend the meetings; they asked me “What do you want?” I replied “I hunger and am thirsty for Jesus-I want more of Him”. They said, “Okay, receive it”. That was it-the anointing of the Lord fell upon me like rivers of water. We were floored! There were questions and searches for truth and reason; but now none but Christ can satisfy!

Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well: “…whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14) (Spring up, O well! Within my soul and make me whole.) Not long afterwards, Jesus saw the crowds at the Feast of the Tabernacles, stood up and loudly cried out on the last day of the feast: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (Living water flowing, O how nice to see!)

Think about it; the feast of the Tabernacles-it was a religious ritual. A tradition of the Jews handed down and learnt from their forefathers. This is the time when the priest would take a golden vessel, fill it with the waters from Siloam, go around the temple of God singing praises to Him, and on the last day pouring it out on the altar to remember and signify that God’s Spirit would be poured out like waters. That was religion! But the revelation was sitting right there in front of their eyes all those days-the Person Jesus Himself, who would anoint them with Holy Spirit and fire! But the priests were simply blinded by traditions.

At the end of the feast, on the last day, Jesus could not keep silent any longer, sitting there and seeing the ritual. He stood up and cried out the verses in John 7:37,38. Do you now see what religion can do to you? That is why I said that Jesus has set us free from religion and gave us revelation.

It is written, out of our inmost being, out of our hearts, will flow rivers of living water. The invitation is open to all-if anyone thirsts! Are you thirsty for God? If yes, you will be filled. You find lack in this world around you-lack of justice and lack of righteousness (remember Christians’ persecution in Karnataka state and the recent Judicial Commision clearing all the culprits?), lack of truth, and lack of joy; but if you look at Jesus, believe in Him, you will be filled to overflowing with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

That is why I say, do not be mired in mere religion-where one will measure another with his own measure and judge one another with selfish motives. There is a fullness to be obtained; the unity of the faith is to be preserved. After describing the five-fold ministries-Apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers, Paul writes to the Ephesians that we ought to become as a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; and no longer be children… (Eph. 4: 11-14). All this maturity in us is required for (i) equipping the saints and (ii) to edify the body of Christ. And children cannot do these!

As a young preacher, I was thirsty for God. I read the books of many authors – Watchman Nee, Bro. Lawrence, and so many others to know about what it is to thirst for righteousness. Am I saying that I am mature now? No, not yet! But definitely growing up and getting there in Jesus Christ. You see, fame, name and riches cannot give you what Jesus can! The world is running after greed, gratification and self-glory – but in fact, they will gain nothing! But if you thirst for Christ, the river of God is ready to burst forth from your innermost being.

The river of God is ready to flow; it flowed at the time of creation in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:10). It flowed during past times in the wilderness (Psalm 78: 15, 16). It will flow in the future from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1)-pure, clear as crystal. But today let me talk about the river of God flowing out from the temple of God. Turn with me to Ezekiel 47.

From the temple of God, the river of God flows out. Consider this-that you and I carry the presence of God and our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The epistles also talk about being knit and built together as the body of Christ with Jesus as the Chief Cornerstone. Maturity is allowing the river to flow out; maturity is allowing the Holy Spirit to measure us. Significantly, the man leading Ezekiel too had a measuring line in his hand and he measured 1000 cubits this way and that.

Ankle Deep

Ezk. 47:3 says: And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came to my ankles.

What does this ankle deep measure signify? It means that you have come to the knowledge of Christ and are now walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16). That is the river flow experience of walking in the newness of life. You are not carried away by influences of worldly knowledge, and peer pressures, but know the truth that has set you free. This is only the beginning of the flow!

Knee Deep

Ezekiel 47:4: Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the waters came up to my knees.

Knees signify prayer-you have now entered the throne room of God in prayer, praying in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18). The Bible also talks to us about how we do not know what to pray and how to pray-but He is there our Helper, the Holy Spirit who makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26). Here is the experience of not only rejecting world-will, but also of knowing God’s will. We begin to pray according to God’s will. But come deeper!

Waist Deep

Ezekiel 47:4: …Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist.

Waist signifies service to the Lord; you can serve His purposes or you can serve your purposes. You can work for the Lord; but you can do better if you can work in the Lord. Paul talks about his service in Acts 20:19: “serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me…” Waist deep is serving the Lord with all humility! Otherwise too, you can serve the Lord-to fulfill your own ambitions, your exaltation; it will only result in confusion and division within the body of Christ.

Full flow

Ezekiel 47:5 “Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”…

This is the Spirit Filled, Spirit Led experience. Eph. 5:18-20 says: And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…

Two things happen in the flow (i) Equip the saints - speak to one another in spiritual songs and (ii) Edify yourself – making melody in your heart. There will be a blessing wherever the river flows; there will be healing and there will be bounty (fishes in Ezk. 47:8-10). Son of man, have you seen this? This is what the river of God that flows out of your inmost being will do!

Let me close now as time runs out; but I love this and want to finish off with the verse further down in Ezekiel 47:13. Thus says the Lord GOD: “These are the borders by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. …”

Double portion blessing! This is what God is calling you to today, as you walk the river and come to its full flow. May God mature us, as we allow Him place in our trials and sufferings. Amen.